Walk the Walk

I'm excited! I have just seen some behavior — and more importantly, some action and results — that give me hope for the future of the HME industry.

I think the problem is this: Our government does not believe that we have our act together. Our legislators appear to believe that we parade before them our “best and brightest,” and that most home care companies are, at best, ignorant of and indifferent to the rules.

When I look at the Medicare Modernization Act and CMS' proposals for competitive bidding, mandatory accreditation and supplier standards, I infer that the government does not believe our industry is particularly professional.

I do not agree with this assessment. But I think we delude ourselves if we ignore this perception, for it results in bad legislation, bad regulations and bad enforcement initiatives.

I see it all around us. For example, I believe the quality standard rules for power mobility are extremely nitpicky because of this so-called “HME credibility gap.” I worry that the government will continue to make us its whipping boy for home care funding and quality concerns until mandatory accreditation suggests that we “get it” and take government rules seriously. By that point, many home care companies will have gone out of business.

But the credibility gap may be starting to shrink. On June 27, more than 40 congressional staffers met to discuss a new study commissioned by the American Association for Homecare. This study showed that most of the costs incurred when providing home oxygen — 72 percent — were the result of services expended by home care suppliers on behalf of beneficiaries.

This information was gathered by an independent research firm based on a survey of 74 home oxygen providers that collectively serve more than 600,000 beneficiaries. That number represents more than 50 percent of the Medicare population receiving oxygen at home. According to the study, the average cost per patient, per month, for home oxygen therapy is $55.81 for equipment and $145.39 for services.

AAHomecare is using this study to persuade Congress to repeal the oxygen provisions in the Deficit Reduction Act, which caps Medicare oxygen rental at 36 months, then transfers equipment title to the beneficiary.